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Why Saif Ali Khan may lose his claim over properties worth Rs 15000 Cr in Bhopal

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Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan, the son of former captain of the Indian cricket team Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (also known as Tiger Pataudi), the last titular Nawab of Pataudi from 1952–1971 until the title was abolished in 1971, and his wife film actress Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana), may lose his ancestral properties in Bhopal.

Incidentally, Sharmila Tagore—a close relative of Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate, through her maternal grandmother, Latika Barua (née Tagore)—too belonged to an aristocratic Bengali Hindu Brahmin family and was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour, for her contributions to Indian culture and performing arts.

The ancestral properties of the Pataudis in Bhopal are valued at over Rs 15,000 crore including the Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace, and Kohefiza Property which have been passed down through generations of the Pataudi family.

The erstwhile nawabs of the former princely state of Pataudi trace their origin to Faiz Talab Khan an ethnic Pashtun from the Barech tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, who was recognized as the first Nawab of the Pataudi in 1804 as a reward for helping the British East India Company in a battle against the Maratha Empire, in the Second Anglo-Maratha War.

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These properties are now at risk of being seized by the MP government under the Enemy Property Act of 1968 enacted in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 which empowers the state government to seize properties belonging to people who migrated to Pakistan and China mostly between 1947 and 1962 or had been declared enemies of the state.

The law allows the government to seize enemy properties, including immovable properties such as land, and buildings, and movable properties such as shares, stocks, and other assets. The law also provides for the appointment of a custodian who is responsible for the custody and management of seized properties. The Enemy Property Act of 1968 allows the government to dispose of the seized properties which may include sale, lease, or transfer to other parties.

The law has undergone several amendments, including the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, of 2017, which expanded the definition of enemy property and introduced new provisions for disposing of seized properties. Since then, the law has been challenged in various courts, including the Supreme Court of India, which issued several rulings and directions on its implementation.

The Enemy Property Act of 1968 has been criticized for its arbitrary and discriminatory provisions. While the law was enacted to address national security concerns, its implementation has had a significant impact on innocent families and communities.

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Saif Ali Khan the tenth Nawab of Pataudi inherited the title and properties worth Rs 5,000 crore, which include the Pataudi Palace in Haryana and other ancestral properties in Bhopal from his father late Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. But his children, Sara Ali Khan, Ibrahim Ali Khan, Taimur Ali Khan and Jehangir Ali Khan may not get these properties because of the legal hitch which bars anyone from claiming to be an heir of any of such property or assets under the provisions of the Enemy Property Act of 1968 and Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2017.

Saif Ali Khan’s great-grandfather Hamidullah Khan, was the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal (not Pataudi) from 1926 to 1949 and held the title until he died in 1960. His greatest mistake was that he never left a will dividing his property. This is one of the reasons why there have been contesting claims within the family, particularly from the descendants of Saif’s grand-aunt in Pakistan.

Nawab Hamidullah Khan – was a significant figure in Indian history. He was a delegate to the Round Table Conference in London and served as the Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes from 1944 to 1947.

Hamidullah Khan was reportedly very close to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and Louis Mountbatten the last Viceroy and Governor General of India. He reluctantly agreed to have Bhopal join the Union of India despite pressure from Jinnah to join Pakistan. This was a significant turning point in Indian history, as Bhopal at that time was one of the largest and most prominent princely states in India.

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Hamidullah Khan married Maimoona Sultan the great-great-granddaughter of Padshah Shuja Shah Durrani of Afghanistan at Peshawar on 5 September 1925 and had three daughters, including Sajida Sultan his second daughter, who later became the Begum of Bhopal and married Iftikhar Ali Khan the 8th Nawab of Pataudi.

Curiously Sajida Sultan the second daughter of the Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan, and the wife of Iftikhar Ali Khan, the 8th Nawab of Pataudi, became in her own right the 12th Nawab Begum of Bhopal. In 1960, upon the death of her father, she became the titular ruler of Bhopal. Her older sister, Abida, was the heiress apparent and she refused to return to Bhopal to hold the title, as she had migrated to Pakistan in 1950. Even her son declined to do so. Hence, Sajida was formally recognised as the Nawab Begum of Bhopal in 1962, with effect from 1960.

It’s worth noting that the Pataudi family has a rich history and Saif Ali Khan, the current Nawab of Pataudi, inherited the properties from his grandfather, Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi.

The reason behind Saif Ali Khan’s potential loss of these properties lies in a recent ruling by the Madhya Pradesh High Court which lifted the stay on the properties since 2015 and directed the Pataudi family to present its case before the appellate authority within 30 days, failing which the government will seize the properties worth over Rs 15,000 crore.

“If a representation is filed within 30 days from today, the appellate authority shall not advert to the aspect of limitation and shall deal with the appeal on its own merits,” the court said.

Significantly the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued an order in 2015, which temporarily restrained the government from taking possession of the ancestral properties of the Pataudi family in Bhopal. The stay was granted in response to a petition filed by the Pataudi family, which challenged the government’s decision to declare their properties as “enemy properties” under the Enemy Property Act of 1968.

The petition argued that the government’s decision was arbitrary and unjust, and the properties had been inherited by the Pataudi family from their ancestors, who had been the rulers of Bhopal. The petition also claimed that the family had not migrated to Pakistan, and therefore, their properties could not be declared as “enemy properties”.

The 2015 stay order allowed the Pataudi family to retain possession of their ancestral properties. However, the stay order was recently lifted by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, paving the way for the government to take possession of the properties.

By virtue of the new MP High Court directive lifting of the stay order the Pataudi family is reportedly running from pillar to post to regain control over their ancestral properties, and has vowed to challenge the government’s decision.

Significantly the properties in question including the Flag Staff House, Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace, and Kohefiza Property belonged to Abida Sultan who migrated to Pakistan. Abida Sultan was the eldest daughter of Hamidullah Khan the last Nawab of Bhopal and had inherited the properties from her father. Hence after she migrated to Pakistan in 1950, the properties were declared as “enemy property” under the Enemy Property Act.

As things stand today:

  • Noor-Us-Sabah Palace is a popular hotel and tourist attraction in Bhopal, known for its scenic views of the lake and luxurious amenities.
  • Flag Staff House, holds sentimental value for the Pataudi family, as it’s where Saif Ali Khan spent his childhood.
  • Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace, and Kohefiza Property are part of the sprawling estate.
  • Dar-Us-Salam –  a historic property inherited by the Pataudi family from their ancestors, the Nawabs of Bhopal
  • Bungalow of Habibi: Another property passed down through generations of the Pataudi family.
  • Ahmedabad Palace: A palace that’s part of the Pataudi family’s assets.
  • Kohefiza Property: A property that’s been inherited by the Pataudi family.

The government justifies that the properties became “enemy property” due to Abida’s migration to Pakistan in 1950, while Saif Ali Khan on the other end claims to be the rightful owner of these properties inherited from his grandfather Iftikhar Ali Khan the last Nawab of Pataudi and his wife Sajida Sultan and plans to challenge the government’s decision in court.

According to MP government officials, the Bhopal estate is an “enemy property” because of its links to Hamidullah Khan the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal whose daughter, Abida Sultan, moved to Pakistan after Partition. The government argues that since Abida Sultan was the rightful heir, the property should legally belong to the state because of her migration.

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Neeraj Mahajan
Neeraj Mahajanhttps://n2erajmahajan.wordpress.com/
Neeraj Mahajan is a hard-core, creative and dynamic media professional with over 35 years of proven competence and 360 degree experience in print, electronic, web and mobile journalism. He is an eminent investigative journalist, out of the box thinker, and a hard-core reporter who is always hungry for facts. Neeraj has worked in all kinds of daily/weekly/broadsheet/tabloid newspapers, magazines and television channels like Star TV, BBC, Patriot, Sunday Observer, Sunday Mail, Network Magazine, Verdict, and Gfiles Magazine.

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